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Teleostei (teleosts) > Siluriformes (Catfishes) > Clariidae (Airbreathing catfishes)
Etymology: Heterobranchus: Greek, heteros = other + Greek, brangchia = gill (Ref. 45335).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; demersal. Tropical; 22°C - 28°C (Ref. 12468); 35°N - 4°N

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Africa: Nile (Ref. 3820), Senegal, Gambia, Volta, Niger, Benue rivers and Lake Chad (Ref. 57129).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 150 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3820); max. published weight: 30.0 kg (Ref. 3799)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 40 - 46; Anal soft rays: 49 - 58; Vertebrae: 62 - 63. Diagnosis: length of rayed dorsal fin 37-42% standard length; 40-46 dorsal-fin rays; length of adipose fin 22-27% standard length (Ref. 57129). No serrations on the anterior part of the pectoral spine (Ref. 270, 57129). Head oval-shaped to rectangular dorsally; snout broadly rounded; eyes rather laterally placed; frontal fontanelle long and narrow; occipital fontanelle relatively long and oval shaped; 'postorbital' bones completely united; suprabranchial organ well developed; pectoral spine smooth; openings of secondary sensory canals with regular geometric pattern (Ref. 270). Coloration: preserved specimens: greyish-brown on back and sides, pale brown on belly; some specimens show a marbled colouration, particularly on posterior part of body; caudal fin often with one or more vertical cross-bars (Ref. 57129). Body and fins occasionally with irregularly placed spots (Ref. 270).

Facultative air-breathing (Ref. 126274); Hardly anything is known about the biology of this species (Ref. 78218). Maximum reported size for West Africa: 800 mm TL (Ref. 57129).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Teugels, G.G., B. Denayer and M. Legendre, 1990. A systematic revision of the African catfish genus Heterobranchus Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire, 1809 (Pisces: Clariidae). Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 98:237-257. (Ref. 270)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 01 November 2019

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial

FAO - Aquaculture systems: production; ; Publication: search | FishSource |

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Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.5625 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00741 (0.00333 - 0.01648), b=2.97 (2.78 - 3.16), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 3.7 ±0.7 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives

Resilience (Ref. 120179): Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Very high vulnerability (90 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.

Heterobranchus bidorsalis Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1809